U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,876,577 and 4,591,258 are typical of a number of references showing a cartridge containing a rotatable photoconductive drum with charging and cleaning stations also within the cartridge. The cartridge is received in an image forming apparatus which rotates the drum to bring it past the charging station within the cartridge where an image surface associated with the drum is uniformly charged. An access opening permits exposure of the charged image surface to create an electrostatic image. The electrostatic image is toned by application of toner either from a toning station within the cartridge or through a toning access opening by a development station located in the receiving apparatus. Each toner image formed by such toning is then transferred to a receiving sheet which is electrostatically held to a portion of the surface of the image member. The receiving sheet is then fed to a heated pressure roller fuser where the toner image is fused to the receiving sheet.
Such image member cartridges have been adopted commercially for personal copiers and laser printers. The replacement of the image member also removes residual toner and supplies a new charger to the apparatus. Thus, it replaces in a single step several items separately serviced by a repair personnel in larger, more heavy-duty apparatus.
Such apparatus still requires separate servicing of the fuser. Typically, a fusing wick containing offset preventing liquid is replaced in the fuser by the operator each time an image member cartridge is loaded in the apparatus.